#3 Baylor Tops #10 Lady Vols, 76-53

Posted: Tue 10:42 PM, Dec 18, 2012

WACO, Texas -- Third-ranked Baylor raced out to a 17-0 lead as the Bears ended Tennessee's seven-game win streak, handing the No. 10 Lady Vols a 76-53 defeat on Tuesday night.Baylor moved to 9-1 overall as Brittney Griner tallied 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Kimetria Hayden netted 16 points. Brooklyn Pope corralled a game-best 16 rebounds to go along with 11 points.Tennessee (7-2) was led by Meighan Simmons, who scored 16 points. Kamiko Williams had a season-high 15 points, two off her career-high of 17. Williams posted her first-career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds.Tennessee played without 6-3 center Isabelle Harrison, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle.

The loss of 23 points equalled the eight-largest in school history.

Baylor outrebounded the Lady Vols, 54-47.The Lady Vols missed their first 11 shots of the game before scoring for the first time, with 13:05 left in the first half, on a Cierra Burdick jumper to make it 17-2.Tennessee tried to climb out of the early hole, but it proved to be too tall of a mountain.UT cut the deficit to 12 at 21-9 and 23-11, but Baylor continued its sharp shooting in the first half and regained a 20-plus point lead at 32-11 on a 3-pointer by Hayden with 6:49 left in the first half. The run expanded to 13-0 to gave Baylor a 36-11 lead with five minutes left in the half. Taber Spani ended the drought with a 3-pointer at the four-minute mark.Tennessee trailed 41-16 at halftime. The 25-point deficit was the largest at halftime in school history. The previous largest margin was 20 against Rutgers in 2009 as the Lady Vols rallied from down 33-13 to win 55-51 on the road.Both Griner and Hayden had 11 points at halftime.The Lady Vols began the second half scoring eight of the first 12 points as Simmons canned a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 45-24.Tennessee continued to battle and chip away, but the margin never got below 19 points in the second half. A Williams' jumper made the score 70-50 with three minutes left. Nia Moore's layup with 93 seconds left, cut the score to 72-53.The Lady Vols return home to host No. 1 Stanford on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will air on Fox Sports Net and the Lady Vol Network.

TENNESSEE TIDBITS• Baylor leads the series 5-2. • Baylor is the second Big 12 opponent the Lady Vols have faced this season following UT's 94-75 win over Texas on Sunday. • The Lady Vols are 52-18 against Big 12 teams all-time. • Tennessee falls to a top-25 team for the first time this season. UT is now 4-1 against ranked opponents this year. • The 21 point halftime deficit was the largest in school history. Previously, the largest disadvantage was against Rutgers (20 points), which ended in the largest comeback in school history a 55-51 win after being down 33-13. • The 16 halftime points were the fourth fewest score by UT in Lady Vol history while the 23 point margin of defeat was the eighth worst in school history. • Today's attendance was 9,249

FOR STARTERS• Today's starters: Cierra Burdick, Taber Spani, Bashaara Graves, Ariel Massengale and Meighan Simmons. • Burdick and Simmons are the only Lady Vols to have started every game of the 2012 season. • Cierra Burdick was the first to score for the Tennessee with a jump shot. •Nia Moore was the first sub of the day for the Lady Vols. •Both the Lady Vols and Lady Bears donned "We Will Remember, S.E.H.S" shirts in honor of those affected by Friday's tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

SLOW START•The Lady Vols scored their first basket almost seven minutes into the game when Cierra Burdick made a jumper after missing their first 11 shots.

SPREADING THE OFFENSE AROUND• Seven of the eight Lady Vols who saw action tonight scored, with Meighan Simmons leading the way with 16 points. Simmons has led the Lady Vols in scoring for the seventh game this season. • It was the first game this season where Bashaara Graves did not hit the double digit mark in scoring. She finished the game with six points. •Kamiko Williams led the team in boards as she grabbed 10. Williams also had a team-best six assists. •Meighan Simmons had hit 19 consecutive free throws dating back to the Rice game until missing two in the second half. • It was the first game of the season where a Lady Vol did not take a charge.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE WILLIAMS•Kamiko Williams recorded her 18th career game of scoring in the double digits, and third this season as she had 15 points on the night. • It also marked the first career double-double for Williams, who achieved the feat with 10 boards. • The 15 points were the most for Williams since her freshman year and the second highest in her career (17 South Carolina, 2010) • The senior dished out a team-best six assists, with no turnovers.

STATS AT THE HALF• The Lady Vols posted 16 points in the first half, the lowest of the season for the team. • It was a close rebound game in the first 20 minutes of action as UT snagged 27 boards to Baylor's 28 rebounds. • At the half, six of the eight Lady Vols who had stepped onto the court had made a basket. • Meighan Simmons led the team in scoring with four points, while Cierra Burdick had a team-best five rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

UP NEXT• Tennessee returns home to Rocky Top as they face Stanford, Saturday Dec. 22 at 4 p.m.

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